In a shocking incident, a 17-year-old boy was seriously injured after he was reportedly attacked with what appears to be “acid” on the highway at Dhargal while he was proceeding to college on Monday morning. The incident has once again brought to focus the fact that acid is freely available in the State. It may be recalled that a decade ago the Supreme Court imposed strict restrictions on the sale of acid. It is learnt that before 2013 there was no specific provision in the Indian Penal Code to deal with acid attacks. But now acid attacks have been declared a cognizable offence under 326 (A) of IPC punishable with up to ten years imprisonment along with a fine. There have rarely been incidents of acid attacks reported in Goa. One can simply visit a hardware store and buy a bottle of acid that is used as a ‘toilet cleaner’ or ‘floor cleaner’. These products primarily contain Hydrochloric Acid which is highly corrosive. There needs to be a restriction or even a total ban on the sale of acid which is used as ‘floor cleaner’.
